Gothard Sisters cook up some cozy Celtic music in the kitchen

Since the Gothard Sisters are quarantined together with all of their instruments, they’ve decided to entertain their fans who are stuck at home.

The trio from Edmonds — named “Best New Irish Artists” in 2013 by the Irish Music Awards — are performing their “A Cozy Celtic Concert Series” until Washington’s shutdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus is over. A new episode with five songs each is posted every Tuesday at www.gothardsisters.com.

Sisters Greta, 33, Willow, 30, and Solana, 24, decided to record weekly shows from the kitchen of their family home. They hold band practice in their kitchen, so recording there was a natural fit.

In these mini concerts, which are 20 to 30 minutes long, the sisters share a mix of original, cover and traditional songs that they almost never play live.

“We have fans all over the world, and many of them will never be able to see a concert,” Greta Gothard said. “With a concert, you only get to do 60 to 90 minutes of material — and we usually do the same 60 or 90 minutes.

“This is the advantage of the internet: There are so many songs that we want to play, so we decided for the foreseeable future just to play as many songs as we can get through.”

They’re making a running list of all the songs they’ve ever written, and all the traditional Irish and Scottish songs they love. Each week, they choose five more to play. They also take requests.

The concerts are free, but if you’d like to pay for the performance, included on the site are tickets priced at $3, $6 and $12. Or just pay what you can.

Note: These concerts do expire. After each show has been up on website for one week, they are archived on the Gothard Sisters’ Patreon page. If you’re a Patreon subscriber, you may still watch these shows. Find the sisters’ Patreon at www.patreon.com/gothardsisters.

The April 1 concert features the songs “Hummingbird,” “Queen of Argyll,” “High Drive Set,” “Wild Mountain Thyme” and “Cat and the Fiddle.”

On April 6, the set list included “Fairy Dance Jig,” “Rose, Marie and Heather, “Bit Epic Set,” Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” and “Chasing the Sun.”

Their April 13 concert features the songs “Flying Sails,” “If Wrapped in Kindness,” “Against the Grain,” “Black Velvet Band” and “Celebration Reel.”

The trio has put out eight albums in all — including three Christmas recordings — in their 10 years touring and performing as a Celtic-folk trio. Their newest album, “It’s The Little Things,” was released last year.

The new album marks the band’s 10-year anniversary. The 18-track compilation album features the sisters’ greatest hits and two new recordings. The title track is the first song Greta ever wrote. The other new recording is their cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

“It’s The Little Things” — whose chorus in the mostly instrumental song is simply “It’s the little things that make a difference/ Be the change you wish to see in the world” — was a favorite in Japan when they toured there in October. They performed a total of 22 shows all over the nation. Solana learned how to sing three songs in Japanese; all three of them spoke Japanese between each song.

The sisters were back in Washington, on their annual St. Patrick’s Day tour, when the coronavirus eventually put a stop to all concerts. Their last show was in Leavenworth on March 13.

Which brings us back to the mini concert series. Just how many songs do they have on that running list?

“At this point, we could easily go for eight weeks or longer,” Greta Gothard said. “We’ll see how long this ends up going. This is kind of fun to go over all of the songs we’ve ever done.”

In three weeks, the Gothard Sisters have received several messages from fans who tell them they’ve been listening to the concerts while working at the hospital or while sewing face masks for their family and friends.

“I love that,” Greta Gothard said. “That’s why we’re doing this — so we can keep doing what we do and, hopefully, it helps … Celtic music is very comforting and cozy, and it can be nice for those who are sheltering in place and are bored, and want to listen to something that isn’t the news.”

If you stream

Watch the Gothard Sisters perform “A Cozy Celtic Concert Series” each Tuesday at www.gothardsisters.com/a-cozy-celtic-concert-series. Three episodes, each 20 to 30 minutes long, are already available for streaming. The mini concerts are free, but if you’d like to pay for the performance, included on the site are tickets priced for $3, $6 and $12. Or just pay what you can.